Daniel and Adrienne #4: Challenges

“Dex, the only thing that you’ve got going for you is long legs.  But long legs just mean there’s more to trip over,” Adrienne shouted across the track as Ronon Dex sauntered over arrogantly, grinning, cutting his eyes at her, John Sheppard slightly behind him a sly smile on his face.  

“Whatever Addy, you would just end right back in the infirmary again trying to explain to Carson how I whupped your ass!” he taunted in reply, continuing to stride confidently in her direction, crossing his arms across his chest as he let out a loud boisterous laugh. Ronon wasn’t going to let this little Earth woman show him up, at least not publicly, but  Adrienne didn’t seemed fazed, slamming her hands to her hips, a grin from ear to ear. 

From the floor of the gym, Daniel glanced over at Cameron as he put a twenty five pound weight on the end of the bar ignoring the display over head. They had decided this morning, with things quiet around base, to actually get in a session, something that had been unable to do for a while and Daniel could feel the absence of the physical activity, or at least activity that didn’t lead to his assistant kicking him in the face. Cameron was setting them up for some serious weight lifting, maybe more than they should be tackling on a Monday morning, when Daniel heard the shouting growing louder, and couldn’t help glancing upward towards the track. 

“What is going on up there?” he asked Cam, pointing to his brazen assistant and the Atlantis crew,  Adrienne standing toe to toe with Ronon Dex, her finger pointed directly into his chest. Smiling, was that a smile, Ronon had his arms crossed across his body, staring down at her with an expression that Daniel couldn’t tell was serious or playful, but was still one that Daniel would not want to be on the receiving end of, especially if  that glare of hers was the look she was giving him back. It kinda creeped him out, it didn’t seem natural at time and considering Adrienne was from New Orleans he couldn’t help but think about witch doctors and voo doo when she shot it at him. 

Weights safely in place, Cameron looked up at the suspended track and shrugged, glancing back at Daniel as he walked around the bench, sitting down.   

“I dunno, Addy up to no good.  I’m not sure if it was such a good idea to let her and Vala become friends,” he laughed, “I think it’s just made her worse.” 

As long as Adrienne manages to keep her clothes on I don’t think we are in too bad a shape, Daniel thought to himself, but he didn’t say anything.  Adrienne had grown significantly more confident, not only in her work, but among her peers at the SGC as of late, making him feel more and more each day like this might work out. It wasn’t arrogance anymore like he had originally thought, there was something else with her that no one else seemed to know about, not even Vala. He had just up and asked Vala, but even she said that Adrienne kept pretty tight lipped about her past.  

Shrugging and shaking his head, he walked over to spot Cameron as he continued to watch her taunt the Atlantis crew, Adrienne and Ronon throwing insults back and forth. Finally he walked away, Adrienne shouting after him something about him being chicken and proceeding to do a chicken impersonation on the overhang.  He heard the counting, fourteen, fifteen and reaching down to help him put the bar back into the stand, not taking his eyes off of the scene unfolding before him as Ronon walked up to Adrienne, reaching out for her shoulders and turning her back to face him. 

“Dude, what are you starting at? I know she’s hot but come on, make it less obvious,” Cameron joked, causing Daniel to make a face and roll his eyes.  Yes, she was a cute girl, but other than the fact that she was his assistant and he had many other things to focus on, namely work, was the fact that she was a girl, a girl fifteen years younger to be exact. Rolling his eyes for a second time, Daniel turned to face his friend, still frowning. 

“No, she’s so, well, loud,” Daniel replied, stepping back to let Cam stand once more. He stood there for a moment, studying her, trying to figure out if she was kidding. She had been kidding back at the church on the last mission and he’d missed that, she had an odd sense of humor, stranger than Jack’s to be honest. 

“She’s just kidding around. She likes to know that she can take on the guys.  The only other women who can say that around here are aliens with super space powers. Addy’s the one human woman who can really kick some ass, and she and Dex joke around with it, ” Cameron defended his friend; he knew Adrienne was kidding, but for some reason Daniel hadn’t caught onto her sense of humor, maybe because unlike the rest of them, Daniel hadn’t taken the time to get to know her. Hell, even Jack and Sam had invited her over to dinner, but Daniel avoided the young archaeologist like the plague and Cam really wasn’t sure why, Addy couldn’t be any nicer. 

Daniel, however, didn’t respond, keeping his gaze at the track watching Adrienne standing there with Jennifer Keller, laughing hysterically at Ronon’s refusal to race her, making rude gestures and taunting him right to his face. You could actually hear her all the way down here in the weight room, area really, but she was still a good distance away yet he could still make out the words, Adrienne calling Ronon a peeshwank, which Daniel was fairly certain was the cajun word for wimp when he got an idea. 

He’d mess with her. 

“Hey Miss Perfect!!” he shouted up to her, making Adrienne stop dead in her tracks, peering over the edge of the railing.  She made a puzzled face at him for a second, surprised he had shouted up to her and then quickly changed her demeanor, grinning slyly. 

“Yeah Dr. Jackson?” she yelled back, emphasizing the word doctor.  She hadn’t called him Dr. Jackson in a few weeks now, after he insisted she call him Daniel and she knew he hated it when she called him Dr. Jackson.  Mischief across her face as soon as the words left her mouth, Adrienne leaned back off the railing, glancing over her shoulder and smiling brightly at Ronon, John and Jennifer. What in the world was he up to?   

“I’ll race you,” he challenged from the weight area confidently, Adrienne’s eyes widening for just a moment before she erupted into boisterous laughter.  Ok, she thought, that was what he was up to..

“Are you kidding me?!!? You!?!” she asked dumbfounded, glancing at Jennifer who was taking the awkward stance of do I laugh with my friend or do I get in trouble with one of my superiors later.  Adrienne must have noticed, because she quickly took off the pressure of her glare and looked back down over the edge, right back at him, that same smug smile on her face. 

“Bring it on sir; I’d be happy to oblige,” she shouted back, feigning politeness, and scanning her audience to see what Daniel’s reaction would be, but he didn’t respond, instead leaning over to tighten the laces of his tennis shoes. 

Looking back and forth between his friends, Cam shook his head, knowing what was to come.  

They were going to do something stupid, in front of the entire base.  

“Daniel, are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked making a face at him, “she’s fast.” And, Cameron thought to himself, she is going to do anything she needs to make sure that you don’t make her look bad in front of everyone.  Adrienne had opened up a little more with he, Ronon and Teal’c, but Cam could definitely tell that she wasn’t quite used to being forthcoming with others. However there was one thing that she had told them and that was how Daniel made her feel like crap, like she was incompetent and Cam knew that she would do whatever it would take to maintain the level of respect she had worked so hard to achieve.

“She runs distance Cam, like you. This is a sprint, it’ll be fun. I can run you know,” Daniel replied, walking over to the stairs to head up to the track.  Still concerned, Cam looked up to see Adrienne, still talking to Jennifer casually, but stretching her legs. She didn’t look worried and that was a clear indicator to Cam that someone was going to get hurt.  Sighing, he walked quickly over to watch from the house phone, just in case he needed to call a medic, which he was betting was a pretty good chance. 

Without the tiniest bit of fear in his face,  Daniel jogged briskly up the spiral stairs, where Adrienne was standing at the top of the stairs, arms crossed, waiting for him. 

“So, what brought on this sudden desire to prove one’s masculinity? Not getting enough female attention lately?” Adrienne taunted, teased, partially. One of the things that drove her craziest about Daniel was that every damn woman on base and every damn alien woman that they met seemed to fall in love with him.  He was attractive, sure, well very attractive, but he was such a stick in the mud and obsessive workaholic that Adrienne had no idea what they saw in him. It wasn’t as if Adrienne was some crazy party girl like Vala, she just liked to do more than work once in a while.  

Like read a book.  

NOT about work.  

“I’m here to prove you’re not as wonderful as you like to think you are,” he answered with a smile as he reached the top step.  He’s smiling, she thought, is he kidding with me? Why is he so damn hard to read? 

“I don’t think I’m wonderful.  I know I am,” she smiled in response, playing right back, if that is what he was doing. Please, she thought, please be playing otherwise I am going to look like a complete and total tchew. Raising his eyebrows, Daniel walked over to the water fountain, removing his glasses carefully, setting them down on the driest place he could find, glancing back over at his assistant. 

“You ready?” he asked, walking over to the line, leaning over a bit, taking a stance to start.  

“Do you need to stretch first? Get some water? Reconsider?” Adrienne sauntered over to him, smiling.  Oh shit, she thought to herself, he’s really serious.  Can he run fast? If so, I’m screwed, Adrienne tried to quell her worry with confidence, puffing out her chest and bending into another stretch. 

“Let’s just do this so I can shut you up and get back to what I was trying to do,” he motioned to the lane beside him, wondering if she would back down. Oh shit, he thought, she’s gonna hold me to this, no Adrienne you are supposed to laugh, call me a loser and then I mock you right? Isn’t that how this works?

 Nodding, Adrienne looked behind her and signaled Jennifer over. 

“Jenn, you call it, start and finish. One lap,” Adrienne looked over at Daniel, “Agreed?” 

“Sure,” he answered, worried, panicked, starting to think that he should have listened to Cam. 

Worried, Jennifer peeked back at the rest of her crew who were just shaking their heads.  It appeared as if Sheppard and Ronon were going to stay out of it, way out of it, both men backing up slowly to the edges of the track, while Cameron who obviously was trying not to laugh at the entire fiasco, stood, his arms crossed waiting by the emergency phone. No support there either. Resigning herself to the fact that there was no getting out of this, she glanced back at Adrienne, who was now standing beside Daniel, bent into a stance as well. 

“Ok, you guys ready?” Jennifer asked, hoping one or both of them would back down.  

“YES!” they both shouted in unison looking forward at the raceway.  

“Alright,” Jennifer stammered, knowing this was really happening and hoping she wouldn’t get blamed for the outcome, “uh, on your mark, get set, GO!” she screamed and they both took off full sprint into the straightaway, feet flying and legs pumping, both archaeologists running as if their lives depended on it. 

For about three seconds it was neck and neck until they reached the first curve when Adrienne took the lead, cutting over in front of Daniel into the inside lane. The gym was roaring, some cheering Adrienne, but many cheering for Daniel, watching the two history geeks race around the track, so fast that it didn’t even seem real. 

Coming into the second straightaway Adrienne knew that she was in the lead, no longer feeling the familiar presence of another runner behind her so she decided to run even faster, to show him up, to be able to laugh at him at the finish line, thinking maybe this was it, maybe this was what it would take to finally get them to speak to one another, to maybe be friends.  She didn’t look back just pushed ahead harder, shortening her steps to increase her speed. 

Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, left and then she was falling, slow motion, and she felt it, but completely lacked the ability to remain on her feet. Cursing herself she knew, she knew she had pushed her sprint too fast, she should have known better, she wasn’t a sprinter, and instead of moving forward along the track, she was falling to the ground and instinctively reaching to catch herself. 

She heard him, closing in, not slowing and before she hit the ground, she felt a slam, hard, solid, a brick wall from behind. Catching herself on her elbows she tried to remain upright, but the weight on her back, his weight, damn that man was heavy, made her crash her face onto the track forcing her teeth into her bottom lip.  Lifting her hand to her mouth, blood spilling out of the wound and around her fingers, she tried to catch the fluid in her hand, but there was too much.  She spit it onto the ground and tried to push Daniel off of her, painfully crawling to her knees.  

“You fell, right in the middle of the track! I thought you were the goddess of running!! ” He was yelling, was he still playing or was he screaming at her, trying to stand but fell back down to the ground, “Dammit, my ankle!” Adrienne turned around to face her boss, trying to figure why he was screaming and, more importantly, why he hadn’t stopped, and saw him leaning forward holding onto the lower part of his leg, wincing in pain.  Wiping the blood from her mouth, she tried to apply pressure to the split portion of her lip, the throbbing in her mouth taking over her good sense. 

“You fell on me!! How do you not see a human being in the middle of a raceway!!” she shoved him with her free hand, not caring about his stupid ankle. Serves him right, she thought, why in the hell did he come up here, he’s just been waiting for something else since I took that apple to the face, everyone has been talking about that apple to the face, saying she’s just like another Vala with a PhD, there to make more problems then solve them. The thought popped into her head, nearly as painful as the injury itself, and she swore she could hear people laughing at her...

God his ankle hurt so bad, why hadn’t he seen her fall, well he had, he just didn’t run enough to know how to stop, why did she fall and he was trying to smile and laugh through the pain; this was crazy, this was the most insane thing he had ever done and he was about to laugh and tell her just that when he looked up at her paused, seeing the blood oozing from the sides of her hand. 

“Adrienne, are you, what, you’re bleeding!” he tried to sit forward to reach for her face, concern in his voice. She was bleeding pretty bad, oh no, he thought, I didn’t mean for this to happen...

“No shit Sherlock, I had your big dumb ass land on me and slam me into the ground,” she said as she shooed him away with one of her hands, this one also covered in blood that was now drying on the inside of her palm. She didn’t want his sympathy, she was angry and horribly embarrassed, wanting escape more than anything else. 

“Adrienne, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bust you open,” Daniel tried to apologize and leaned forward despite his hurt ankle to see how bad her lip was since there was blood all over the front of her t-shirt, all over the track dripping around her fingers, so much blood for a  busted lip, that Daniel was worried that she had done more than just land on her face in the fall, but she pulled away from him, angry, her penetrating gaze driving into him in a way he had never seen before. 

“Go to hell Daniel,” she replied, keeping her hand to her mouth, bending forward and trying to inch away from her boss, who was effectively sitting on top of her, his good leg trapped under her body.  

“What in the world is going on in here? I was called down here, some emergency on the track?” Dr. Lam shouted, dashing into the room medical bag in hand, searching around the facility, to determine what her nurse was talking about when she had been informed of an exercise related injury in the gym. Rather than someone pressed under a weight machine or a broken leg near a treadmill, Cameron was standing, phone receiver in his hand shaking it as he smiled.  Smirk plastered across his face, he hung the phone back quickly into its cradle and and just pointed up to the track.  

“Two nerds down, self induced,” he laughed.  Puzzled, Dr. Lam looked up to the elevated track and saw Dr. Jackson Daniel halfway sitting on Dr. Adrienne Rowan, who was holding her bloodied face. 

Rolling her eyes in silence, the doctor made her way to the steps.

*****

“Ow!” Adrienne winced in pain as Dr. Lam threaded the final stitch, standing in front of her patient, now in the infirmary, which she had forced her to walk to, unassisted, even by Daniel, who for some unknown was trying to help her as he crutched his way down the halls.

 Carolyn Lam did not appear amused. 

“Hold still Dr. Rowan,” she fussed at her.  Carolyn had intentionally used very little pain killer in the hopes of teaching Adrienne a lesson, also intentionally using old style stitches for that very same reason.  Adrienne seemed to be in here every other week, fighting injury, running injury, trying to prove herself on a mission injury and it was getting old, fast. 

“This is worse than a tattoo,”  she whined, trying not the flinch. Without so much as a smile in response, Carolyn tied the stitch off and reached for the small table beside her, grabbing some surgical scissors to snip the excess away. Returning her supplies to the table, she finally glared back at Adrienne, examining her work carefully, a scowl on her face. 

“It serves you right,” Carolyn answered, “You and Dr. Jackson made complete asses of yourselves out there.  You’re senior staff members acting like children.”  Adrienne started to respond, both to the ass comment and senior staff member, when she heard a clicking sound coming up behind the doctor, a light tap of metal on stone and leaned over to confirm what she already knew. There Daniel was making his way over to Adrienne on the crutches Carolyn had called down for him, his ankle tightly bound, that never ending look of disappointment plastered across his face. It didn’t seem broken, but he seemed to be in about as good of shape as she was, busted, in pain and embarrassed. 

“Did he get the same lecture?” Adrienne inquired, still staring and at her visibly less confident boss. In her opinion, he should have gotten the exact same lecture, after all, Daniel was the one who started all of this, Adrienne was completely content being left alone to flirt with Ronon. 

“Worse,” Daniel answered instead, “She called Sam on me.”  He gave Adrienne a sheepish grin.  Seeing his reaction, not angry, but just with that goofy look on his face, Adrienne couldn’t resist, erupting into laughter and grabbing her face in pain. Maybe he was kidding? Was he trying to goof off with her? He sucked at it if he was, but right now she was so confused and she wanted to ask but Dr. Lam was glaring at both of them, not in a laughing mood, her face was emotionless, maybe even bordering on agitated. 

This was not a laughing matter.

“Now, I don’t think I need to remind the two of you that you’re not to push yourselves.  Daniel stay off that ankle, even if you just need to get up and grab something, use those crutches and Adrienne no blood pumping activities for at least 72 hours, no fighting, no running, no biking, nothing.  You might pop a stitch.  And eat carefully, maybe soup...” Dr. Lam gave instructions knowing full well that they wouldn’t listen.  Daniel might as well have a permanent bed in the infirmary and it looked like Adrienne had a lot more in common with him other than a love of old junk.  At least she did her duty, after that behaving was up to them. Sighing, she dismissed them both and went back to tend to the real sick people.  

With permission to leave, Adrienne stormed out of the infirmary heading back for the lab.  

“Where are you going?” Daniel shouted behind her, confused since she wasn’t heading in the direction of the elevators that would take her to her quarters.

“To work, you know, where I would have been going before you decided to go all crazy on me!” Adrienne shouted, partially serious and partially joking, power walking in the direction of the lab, past the gate room and the entrance to Sam’s office, trying to smile but her painful lip stopping it. He can’t think I’m useless, he needs to see that I’m working through the pain.  

“I wouldn’t have said anything if you hadn’t been flaunting your ass all around the gym like you were something special!” He shouted from behind her as they both made their way down the crowded hall. That made Adrienne stop. Once again she had been kidding and once again he had been too socially inept to get the joke and was challenging her right here in public. Or was he? Confused, trying to read him, she turned, touching a passerby she had bumped into on the shoulder, and made a face at him. 

“Me flaunting around the gym!?! ME!?! Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?!” she shot back, smiling, shit that hurt, was she smiling, could he see the smile, this was fun, come on Daniel laugh, flaunt yourself around on the crutches...

Looked at himself in the mirror? What was she talking about? He didn’t walk around here acting like he was something special, if anything he was the forgotten one, the washed up guy in the old dusty lab who had been degraded to making training videos after the Destiny fiasco.

“Me flaunting around? I’m not the one actiling like I can just take out anyone and everyone who crosses my path,” he spat back, not joking now, now she was just being hateful.

“I was jokin ‘round wit my FRIEND Ronon, one ah DREE people on dis base dat acts like I donnn have da plague and ya ‘ad to stick ya nose in MY business. Sorry if dis lil’ woman doesn’t know ‘er place and if I can actually goof off wit the males of da species without an intent ta screw them!” Adrienne yelled loudly down the hallway, some SG employees stopping to look at them.  His face screwed up into a scowl, Daniel stopping dead in his tracks, a few feet away facing her, carefully balancing himself on his crutches. There seemed to be a small crowd of people gathering, waiting to see what would happen next, but the two archaeologists just stared one another down as if they were completely alone in the passage way. 

“What are you talking about act like you have the plague?! No one acts like that! You’re delusional and paranoid!! ” Daniel countered. How dare she attack him like this; she was the one that had chosen to avoid him, act like he was some antiquated idiot that didn’t really understand the real world. The faces in the crowd looked back at Adrienne awaiting her response but she wasn’t about to give Daniel the satisfaction of her embarrassing herself in the hallway.  

Let him have the last word.  

She turned once more, face straight and mouth closed, continuing her trek to the lab.  Letting out a sigh, Daniel adjusted his crutches following her again; he wasn’t about to let her make him look like the bad guy here.  He had never lost his cool with someone around here this bad, at least publicly, and he wasn’t about to allow this to turn into some Adrienne Rowan pity festival. He shouted out her name once more trying to get her to stop but she ignored him, if anything, she picked up her pace, nearly breaking out into a jog in the hallway, dodging personnel as she went.  

Lesson learned, Daniel, lesson learned, he thought. 

Don’t try to goof off with Adrienne. 

When they got to the lab, she simply walked over to her desk, gathered up her things quickly slipping them into her backpack and headed back for the door.  

“I thought you were going to work?” he sniped at her from the doorway. After that performance she was just going to use this as an excuse to get out of working?  So much for being so dedicated to her job.  

“I am. The base has WiFi, or for those of us who barely know how to turn the computer on, that’s nerd slang for Wireless Internet. I’m going to my quarters.  Or Ronon’s. Then I can work with someone who actually respects me as an equal,” Adrienne retorted. She had every intention of finishing her database tasks for the day, Daniel’s asshattery or not. 

She left without another word.  

“Respects her as an equal; so damn dramatic,” Daniel muttered to himself slowly making his way over to the desk.  He very carefully sat into his chair, leaning his crutches over to where he could get to them easily, trying to pick up where he left off early this morning, staring at his phone instead. 

Would she believe him if he called and apologized? The week had been so great, Adrienne listening to his instructions, asking questions, really working hard to learn from their mistakes on the last mission and prepare for the next. 

What had happened?

The work day ended, but Daniel was so annoyed by the interruption earlier in the afternoon that he decided to stay and work late.  After all, what else did he have to do?  There was no off world mission for another few days and Adrienne was supposed to be working on that one as well as her regular database tasks, if she was working on anything at all. She hadn’t checked in with him all day, which again, considering the past week was strange but maybe she was still upset about this morning and needed time to cool off. Focusing on the other items on his to do list, he was just moving on to another part of the database when he heard loud laughter coming from down the hall, loud familiar laughter. 

“Girl, you shouldn't have picked up the pace.  You HAD him.  You could have trotted right along and been smooth sailing to the finish,” it was Cam’s voice and it sounded as if he was talking about this morning.  Daniel halting his typing, dropping to absolute silence in an effort to hear what they were saying. Cam had said ‘girl’ so Daniel knew he must be talking to Adrienne and whoever else was out there with them. a small group at least he determined as he heard a collection of footsteps moving closer.  

“I know, it was stupid, and I’m paying for it now. He makes me so damn mad. I thought he was kidding, I mean he kids right? Does he have a sense of humor at all? But no, just when I think we’re on equal ground he tries to do whatever he can to make me look like an ass in front of everyone.  Now I can see why Vala said he could go fuck himself, who wants to be around someone who acts like that,” Adrienne responded, sounding hurt more than anything. Holding his breath, Daniel stood from his computer, casually walking over to the file cabinets, the best he could on his sprained ankle, disregarding his crutches and Dr. Lam’s instructions. They were making him sound like a complete asshole.  

What that what everyone thought of him now? 

“I think a more important question is, can you drink?” that was Ronon talking now.  Daniel was happy the subject was no longer him, but nonetheless, made sure he could not be seen as they passed by the door.

“Indeed. Perhaps we should invite DanielJackson. Maybe you two can talk? Maybe a drink would amend the situation?” Teal’c suggested.  That’s right Teal’c, Daniel thought to himself, someone had to defend me, I’m not that bad, invite me, I’m right here, I’d go, but he didn’t speak, didn’t ask, just remained hidden in the shadows, awaiting the response from his assistant.  

“No way shug, I want to have fun tonight, not worry about my blood pressure.  Dr. Grumpypants said I needed to stick to fluids like soups and I think that tequila quantifies as a fluid...” Adrienne giggled playfully, Cam laughing loudly at her suggestion.  He heard them walk by the lab and down the hall, waiting until he could no longer hear footsteps and hobbled his way back over to his desk.  

“I raise your blood pressure? Then what in the hell do you think you do to me?” Daniel said aloud to himself, trying not to sound as offended as he was feeling and sat down in his chair once more, looking back at his screen and logging in, determined to accomplish something. 

*****

“Hey blue eyes, why are you still working?” Daniel heard some time later, although he couldn’t be sure as to how much later, and glanced up to see Vala peering in the doorway, smiling at him like she knew something. He knew exactly what she knew and still wasn’t in the mood to hear about it.  

“Oh, just wanted to catch up, I got a little behind today,” he answered causally, refocusing his attention to his screen hoping she would leave it at that.  

“I heard,” she said, standing from her leaning position against the door jam, walking over to his desk.  as she pointed to the crutches,”quite the talk of the base.” 

“Please don’t lecture me. I am well aware of how stupid it was alright,” Daniel looked back up at her, “and besides, why aren’t you drinking with the rest of them?” Since Vala and Adrienne seemed to have created a personal girls club that’s mission statement was to drive him insane, he was surprised she was not on this little tequila binge the others were talking about, but Vala just shrugged. 

“I wasn’t invited,” she answered, jumping up to sit on his desk as he looked over at her surprised.  

“You weren’t invited?” Daniel questioned, puzzled. Ok, that was odd.  What happened to that gossiping mess they were doing on the last mission?  Maybe Vala wasn’t one of Adrienne’s magic three she had been referring to earlier. 

“No, it’s Cameron’s boy’s night.  Which apparently now includes Addy,” Vala replied, a cool tone in her voice.  Daniel sat back in his desk chair, looking at her dumbfounded.  He wasn’t sure what confused him more, Adrienne going to boy’s night or his not being invited but either way, it was a double insult. Vala must have read his mind, because she washed the look off of her face, grinning at him kindly.  

“I know what you’re thinking.  First, boy’s night without me? Daniel, you can’t even stay sober on one beer and you complain the entire time about the taste.  They’ve given up on you. Second, Addy and the boys?  Yeah, she’s one of the boys now after tapping you one across the face in training. That seems to be her role here, putting you in your place,” Vala explained, adding the last part jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood. Daniel, however, pinched his nose under his glasses, remembering that training session. Who’d thought that short, big hipped, big mouthed little Cajun had that kind of fight in her?  His cheek almost stung a little at the memory.  

“Huh,” Daniel responded, thinking back to her latest tell off of him today.  Adrienne did mention something about not feeling like she fit in. Was this was she meant? Were Teal’c, Cam and Dex her three? Maybe he wasn’t the only one feeling like the outsider, maybe he had made Adrienne feel just that and if that was the case, it made him feel worse about this morning. Dammit, that was the wrong approach, I shouldn’t have messed with her like that, why did I do that? 

“Huh what?” Vala asked, bringing Daniel’s mind back to their conversation. Shrugging, she pushed his glasses up his face furrowing his forehead.  

“Just something she said.  What about the women? Why doesn’t she hang around the women?” Daniel was now curious;  Adrienne had been chatting up on the overhang with Jennifer Keller this morning, or so he thought, and she seemed to be on good terms with Sam and Vala, well seemed to be. Maybe this was something else he had misjudged. 

“Well, I hang out with her and I like her, she’s hysterical, but she doesn’t really like girly things.  She would rather watch Star Wars and try to out quote Teal’c then she would want to get a manicure. She barely has nails,” Vala replied.  

Daniel nodded in agreement, having noticed that about Adrienne.  She was an attractive woman, but she didn’t seem to care about the same things, well, Vala did, in fact she seemed to live in yoga pants or her uniform 24/7.  She did, however, attach herself to Teal’c very quickly, so naturally it made sense that Ronon would be next, and Cameron, well, Daniel knew where Cameron’s mind was, he made that clear every last damn time the two of them were in the gym. Sensing his discomfort, Vala gazed down at him and placed her hand over his.  

“Come on handsome, let’s go get dinner,” she said as she hopped off the table, pulling him along with her, a mischievous grin plastered across her face.  him.  

“Where?” Daniel asked quickly, knowing where Vala’s mind was, where Vala’s mind always was.  

“The commissary; I don’t want to eat alone. Then, I am going to soak in the tub. You can join me for that as well,” she winked. There it was, without fail, and Daniel rolled his eyes. 

“I’ll pass on that,” Daniel answered, “but I am hungry.  Can you help me with these damn things?” he pointed to the crutches. Nodding, Vala handed them over to him and Daniel stood, shoving the crutches under his arms and following her out to the cafeteria.  

*****

Vala made her way through the line, grabbing him some pizza and a soda and brought it over with her own dinner, setting the tray down in front of him. 

“I’m not an invalid,” he responded, but appreciated the gesture. Despite the fact they hadn’t worked out, he did value her as a friend, when she wasn’t trying to get them back together or just get him into her bed.  She reached out for the soda, a sly grin on her face, her desire to torment him oozing out of her. 

“Yes, you are.  It seems that if there was a winner in this, it was Addy,” Vala teased as she opened his drink, which he jerked it away, rolling his eyes at her.  

“No, she fell. If I hadn’t tripped over her sprawled out like that, well, there wasn’t supposed to be a winner. I was joking with her,” Daniel finished, twisting the bottle top and taking a swig, Vala smiling brightly as he did.  

“Joking or not, you fell too and you’re hobbling along with those things like a cripple.  She got stitches, they’re still trying to get her blood off of the track yet she’s out taking shots with the big boys,” Vala lifted her eyebrows, “And Sam isn’t mad at her...” she added quickly.

Vala was right.  Immediately after Adrienne had stormed out of the lab, demanding she work alone,  he was called up to Sam’s office.  She was waiting outside of the door, arms crossed, as if she wanted to see him struggle to get there. Pointing inside while he crutched in and sat on the corner of her desk, Sam watched him with her eyes and shut the door behind them.  

“Daniel, what were you thinking?.  A footrace?  With a woman 15 years younger than you? Who is your assistant?  In front of the ENTIRE gym? I just don’t even know what to say anymore,” Sam shook her head taking a seat beside him on the desk, reaching over, placing her hand kindly on his leg.  She hadn’t hired Adrienne to cause a problem; she had hired Adrienne to help him and everything she read about Adrienne had led to believe that she and Daniel were very much alike, by all accounts this should not be working out in the way it had. Sam had hoped they would get along, that Daniel would take her under his wing and mold her to be what he already was, one of the most amazing people she had ever met.  Not pushing her hand away, why was everyone so touchy with him lately, Daniel gazed at the ground mournfully, letting out a sigh before he answered.

“I was trying to mess with her,” Daniel replied, hoping that Sam didn’t have a follow up question to that.  Sure Sam, see our last fight, yes, I keep track, she told me she was trying to kid with me and I was basically too stupid to figure it out so I tried to kid back with her today because she isn’t that bad and I’m trying to get along with her and like everything in my entire life it blew up in my face. 

Please don’t ask a follow up. 

“Why?” Sam inquired, “What do you mean mess with her? Are you trying to scare her away? As if almost being taken out by angry villagers wasn’t enough? Daniel, she does everything you ask of her, everything, and she does it well. Your lab’s output on the database has doubled since she arrived, doubled,” Sam stressed the word.  

“She’s smart, there’s NO arguing that, I realize that and she’s a good worker. I just,”  Daniel started, stopping his sentence. He didn’t want to answer this, he was dumb, it was dumb and he was paying for it in more ways than one. 

“You know, she’s a lot like you used to be, like in some ways you still are....” Sam added, pointing at his wrapped ankle, but Daniel simply rolled his eyes.  

“Are we finished?” he asked gruffly, having no further desire to sit here being lectured by his friend like he was some stupid teenager. Frowning, he stood to leave, shoving the crutches underneath of his arms again and leaning onto them. Sam reached out to help him but he held out his hand refusing the offer, standing without assistance.  

“If you can assure me that I won’t have to spend my afternoon trying to organize another clean up team to remove Adrienne’s blood from the gym floor, then yes,” Sam replied playfully, following him to the door in case he needed any help, but he didn’t and Daniel left without answering her, crutching his way back to the lab.  

“I’m not sure whether to be happy that he is trying to get along with her or terrified,” she sighed, returned back to her real work. 

*****

That was this afternoon, a conversation he didn’t care to repeat. 

After dinner Daniel returned to his work, refusing help from Vala, despite her insistence. She hadn’t said anything else the entire rest of the meal about Adrienne, the fall, or anything else for that matter, but he still didn’t want to think about any of it, he just wanted to go and absorb himself into the database. At midnight, he was still working when he heard that familiar laughter once again coming from the hallway.  

It seemed his little Cajun problem was back, her entourage in tow. 

“Woah, woah, woah, Addy get his other arm.  Dex, man, what did you drink?’ it was Cam’s voice again and judging by the sounds from the others it did not sound like Ronon was doing too well.  Daniel guessed it was the tequila Adrienne had been talking about earlier. 

“Not that much, I swear, Mitchell, it was those damn nachos. My stomach is killing me,” Ronon responded, sounding weak and miserable, as if he was going to throw up onto the floor. 

“RononDex I said they did not look consumable, but you refused to heed my advice,” Teal’c added and Daniel heard Adrienne bust out laughing.  

“Wait, wait. I think I’ve got something in my locker in the lab. Teal’c, ya got ‘im?” He heard her voice, clearly sober, and shuffling coming toward the lab. Trying to act like he wasn’t listening, why am I listening, why do I care, Daniel quickly popped his headphones on just in time as Adrienne dashed around the corner making a beeline for her locker but paused, noticing her boss working quietly at his desk.   

She made a face a him, waving her hand in the air annoyed and looked back into her locker, digging around her gym bag and producing a small green bottle, probably some herbal remedy knowing Adrienne.  Shutting the locker door, she cut those eyes of hers back over at him, marching up to his desk and ripping the headphones from his head.  

“Hey, what’s the big idea!” he scolded, but unmoved, Adrienne simply pointed to the clock over the door.  

“It’s midnight, bedtime shug,” she replied, smiling, grabbing his arm to pull him upward while he tried to jerk it away, glaring menacingly at her.

“Look Daniel, I’m not trying to get into your pants so don’t get excited.  I was hired to insure that you went back to functioning on human being hours.  Midnight is when people go to bed, so get up. You need sleep. I’ll deal with Ronon first and then I can help you,” she said, tempering her tone, pulling his arm again.  He jerked back, less forcefully this time and stood, glaring at her as she made a low noise of disgust in her throat.  

“You take asshole to an entirely new level. I am trying to help you. Whatever, come on, I’m not gonna catch hell from Sam or anyone for leaving you here,” she stated, walking briskly over to the lab door to shut off the light.  Still frowning, Daniel hobbled behind her, only coming to keep Sam happy. 

 After today’s events, Sam would come down in the morning to check on him and if she found him face on keyboard it wouldn’t be pretty.  

He pulled the door closed behind them, carefully, trying not to fall off of the crutches, scanning the rest of Adrienne’s little band of merry men as she handed Ronon the tablets and a vitamin water she had pulled from her locker.  He took them without question,  thanked her and passed the water back but she shook her hand, insisting that he keep it.  

“Will that shit work?” Ronon looked at them asking pitifully. 

“Yea, it works, ginger root’s good. Why is it when I suggest something like that you don’t take me seriously?” Cameron responded, pulling Ronon higher onto his feet.  

“Because AdrienneRowan has a superior IQ,” Teal’c answered in jest causing Cameron to punch his arm.  

“You guys got him?” Adrienne finally spoke, “I’m gonna take Daniel here and make sure he gets into bed ok and check his ankle.”  Puzzled, Daniel glared at her again, unsure as to whether she was being nice or setting him up for a fall.   

“Get over yourself,” she whispered, reading his face, the only expression she could read, pulling him gently away from the group as Cameron and Teal’c hoisted Ronon up onto their shoulders taking him down the hall. 

“Than you, but I’m capable of getting myself to bed,” he mumbled, a cross between actual thanks and annoyance, something Adrienne was too tired to decipher.  

“Can you check you own ankle? Really check it? What if it needs to be iced, elevated, you need meds, are you just going to hobble around your room like a stubborn ass?” she replied, grabbing his arm again, the gentleness from just moments before gone, heading to his quarters. Frustrated, he pushed her away with the crutch and followed, remaining silent down the hall, up the elevator and the entire walk to his room. 

*****

The red light indicating his door was locked was blinking, but Adrienne just powered on, tapping around on the keypad and coding herself in, Daniel looking over at her strangely. 

“How do you know my room code?” he asked.   

“I know all of your codes,” Adrienne answered plainly, “I memorized them.” 

“Why?” he continued, confused once more. 

“In case I ever needed to get in here in a hurry.  I’m your assistant. What if you were off world and the key to getting you out of trouble was sitting on your nightstand? I’d need to get in there, right?” Adrienne answered, simply, turning the knob when the light went green, backing up to let him in.  Daniel, didn’t argue, she had a point with that one, and crutched himself past her carefully into his room.  Entering behind him, Adrienne pointed to the bed and he frowned, embarrassed by her insistence on babying him, even if she was being nice about it.  

“Christ, does every woman you know want to sleep with you? I didn’t memorize your room code to jump your bones in the middle of the night, me, personally, I like to sleep in the middle of the night. I’m going to help get your boot off and then I’m going to bed myself.  I still have a lot to go over before Thursday,”   Adrienne retorted, was she retorting, continuing to point at the bed. 

Nice gone, he thought...

Refraining from argument, yet throughly confused by her statement, what was she talking about every woman wanting to sleep with him, people barely acknowledged his existence anymore, much less the female personnel, but he sat down as she asked. Carefully, she knelt to the ground in front of him, slowly unlacing the black combat boot, removing it from his foot and tossing it over to the corner where the other one was waiting, presumably brought down by one of the medical staff that treated his leg.  Boot off, she returned her attention to the injured ankle, gently undoing the wrap to expose a rather large area of deep black and purple swelling, lined with red. She ran her fingers around the injury, hunting for what he wasn’t sure, but it tickled and he tried not to laugh as she continued her examination. He wondered for a moment what she was doing, but then remembered from her file that she had been a lifeguard or something in high school and college, so she probably had at least some basic first aide knowledge besides taking care of her father.

Nice, he repeated in his head, she can be nice.  She is being nice. She’s worried about you. 

“How’s your lip?” he asked, the rudeness from earlier gone. Adrienne let out a breath, turning his ankle slightly to peer at the achilles tendon, making him wince in pain.  

“Sorry, just checking for fluid build-up. It’s fine, but it might scar,” she answered, not trying to make him feel bad, just trying to be truthful.   

“I really didn’t mean to bust you open, I just wanted to shut you up,” he stated, realizing quickly that the latter was a poor choice of words, why didn’t he just say I was trying to joke with you, but she didn’t retaliate, merely placed his foot gently down at the floor, gazing back up at him with those haunting dark eyes.  

“You do realize I was kidding right.  With Dex? We kid a LOT. You are just never around to see me actually having a good time,” she responded quietly and stood, heading for the door.  I guess he wasn’t kidding, she thought, I guess he was really trying to shut my up. At least that was somewhat of an apology, but it was too late and she was too tired to discuss this with him right now, not that he would listen anyway. 

As expected, Daniel didn’t respond, he just got up, against Dr. Lam’s orders without crutches and limped over to the bathroom.  Adrienne got the sudden urge to make a crude joke but stopped, deciding that she would tell Ronon later; he would appreciate it. 

Daniel would take it the wrong way like he took everything.  Turning the knob,  Adrienne just left, leaving Daniel to navigate the bathroom alone.  

*****

Daniel awoke to sirens the next morning and leapt from the bed, crumbing immediately to the floor.  

“Damn ankle,” he swore and made his way over to the dresser, hobbling in pain, to try to find clean clothes.  He threw on the first things he could find and headed for the elevators, hoping whatever emergency did not lock them and force him to go down the stairs on these damn annoying crutches. Fortunately, the doors swung open and he rushed inside. smashing his finger against the button. 

Arriving at the gate room he discovered the door was shut and armed personnel were stationed outside, guns ready.

“What’s going on?” he asked the young man closest to him, who peered over his shoulder quickly to put a face to the name. 

“SG-8 came in hot, needed back-up. Most of the team has been taken to the infirmary, but General sent SG-1 to recover the last two,” the soldier replied.  

“SG-1?” Daniel looked at him confused. 

“Yes sir, sent your assistant in your place since you were injured sir,” he explained and turned back to watch at the door.  Daniel shook is head, unsure if he had heard the man correctly and adjusted his body on the crutches. 

“Wait, did you say my assistant? About five eight, brown hair, FEMALE, only worked here a few months, BIG MOUTH??!!” Daniel clarified.  

“Yes sir, Dr. Rowan, she’s one tough chic, sir,” the man responded, but before Daniel could say anything further the doors were opening again, guns shifting to point into the the open doorway.  

“Move!” he heard Dr. Lam shout behind him, forcing him to jump painfully to heed her request and let them in, the small team dashing madly in the direction of the open wormhole. Once they were past him, he peered around the corner to see what was going on just as Teal’c came through the gate carrying a blond woman in SG gear over his shoulder, followed by Vala and Adrienne with a man draped between them.  The medical staff rushed to help his teammates, correction, his teammates and his lab rat, and he could see Adrienne saying something to Vala that he couldn’t make out as she was rubbing her neck now free of the weight of another human from her shoulder.  The girls laughed and looked back at the gate for Cameron who was coming through last, unencumbered, the remaining two members of SG-8 crossing through behind him. Teal’c rejoined the group and Daniel watched with curiosity as the four of them stood there, chatting for a moment to allow the medical team time to start moving the injured members of SG-8 onto stretchers and then broke apart, making their way for the exit.  

The archaeologist stood there dumbfounded at the entire scene when he noticed that Adrienne, who hated P-90’s and bullets, was not carrying a P-90, or a Zat gun for that matter, she was holding a Jaffa staff weapon.  

What in the world was going on? 

“Good morning handsome,” Vala said as she walked by, “You missed the fun.” She squeezed his arm gently and kept walking, heading for the mandatory medical exam.

“Looks like it,” he answered trailing, noting that Adrienne was behind her, but followed behind, not saying a word to him, cutting her eyes away sheepishly, as if she were embarrassed to be there. 

“You didn’t miss anything,” Cam told him as he followed behind Adrienne, “Just a few Lucians that weren’t expecting resistance.  Or staff weapons,” he added, Teal’c, walking tall, strong and smiling, approaching from behind.  

“AdrienneRowan cannot even hold a P90 but she shows great skill with a staff weapon, I am quite pleased CameronMitchell called her to join us,” Teal’c said as he left the gateroom himself, smiling brightly. 

 And then they were gone, the team plus his assistant, leaving him standing alone at the doorway.  

Daniel was speechless. 

They didnt’ even call me, was all he could think. 

“Move!” his heart leapt from his chest as he heard her shout at him once more, causing him to stumble as he backed up to get out of her way, stretchers with the injured powering past him and down the long white hallway.

What a way to start my morning, he thought, taking a few deep breaths to calm the pounding in his head and in his gut. Instead of heading to the commissary, he decided just to go to the lab and eat a Powerbar there, hoping the excitement of the day was now over.

*****

There was tapping as he crutched his way around the corner, feverish tapping, and he didn’t even need to look to know that Adrienne was there already working away as if she didn’t just go fight of a squad of Lucians over breakfast.  This is why she got on his nerves; she should be shaken up, pumped up, anything, but instead she was calm, cool and collected as if nothing happened and back to playing the Ms. Perfect card.  To top it all off, the staff weapon was propped up on the wall right behind her as if she was inviting the attention of having it, but Daniel refused to indulge her, crutching slowly and deliberately, just enough so she would notice his presence without his having to announce it. 

“I left the file over there for that Incan world, the dispute.  Can you look over my notes?” she asked politely, no attitude or anything.  Why was she being nice? She just had a little jaunt off world, doing his job, and here she was, smiling at him? It made him want to scream, to grab her shoulders and shake her and ask her why in the hell she was here to torture him. 

Forcing his emotions into check, he glanced over at her, her brown hair falling out of a tight ponytail and coming to a gentle rest on her cheek and her face in total concentration. 

“Sure,” he responded with as little emotion, determined that he wasn’t going to let her know that she was bothering him. Adjusting his glasses, he opened the file and began to read, scanning her careful script, noting she had used legal paper instead of a computer, maybe even having done for so his benefit. He read carefully, mouthing the lines as his eyes moved across them, but there were no errors in the new work, she had made each and every change he had suggested, obviously having listened to him. She had done everything he had asked, again.

Frowning as he shut the folder, he glanced quickly down at her, raising his eyebrow and forcing a thin smile.  

“Looks fine,” he said, setting it down in front of him onto the corner of his desk, not desiring to shove the crutches back underneath the bruises their padding was creating underneath his arms. 

“Thank you, I tried to make sure to cover everything you asked. I’ll get it as soon as I get to a stopping point,” she kept typing and didn’t look up. Well, she had done everything he asked, he had to give her credit for that, his brain already moving onto his task for today as he opened his computer screen.  He had been at it only a few moments when out of the corner he saw her stand and begin to approach him, her iPad in hand, reading something closely as she walked, her shadow from the bright laboratory lights casting down on his arm. He wouldn’t have bothered looking up from his screen and the notepad at his hand, were it not for the strange dripping noise that he couldn’t place, making him glance up to see his assistant, eyes wide in horror, dripping blood from her mouth right onto his desk and the mission folder.  

“ADRIENNE!” he shouted and leapt up in shock as blood was pouring out of her mouth, almost as rapidly as it was yesterday. 

“Sorry, I must have popped a stitch when I was off world,” she was looking up at him, her hand over her mouth, frightened and frozen. He pulled her hand away and sure enough, she had popped one of the stitches, the thin thread hanging from the bottom of her still swollen lip. 

“Didn’t Dr. Lam say no blood-pumping activities!!!” he shouted and grabbed a tissue, shoving it at her face. He hadn’t meant to snap, he wasn’t sure why he snapped at her, she was standing here in pain, holding her face in shock. 

“Well, since my boss was unavailable, I had to go do his job and them come back to do mine!” she was trying to shout, trying to fight back, but her voice was muffled, her hand back over her mouth.  She didn’t mean to yell that, she had felt bad when Cam called her down to the gate room only to find out that no one had even alerted Daniel. Knowing that he wasn’t going to offer any assistance, he was blaming her, blaming her for Cam saying he was too injured to go, Adrienne rushed across the lab and right out the door, Daniel quickly shoving the crutches under his arms to follow her the best that he was able.  

“Where are you going now?” he shouted.  

“To fuckin’ Mars dipshit!” she cursed behind, where in the hell did he think she was going, everyone going down the hallway stopping to look at her, swearing up a storm in a thick cajun accent, and then back at him, hobbling pitifully behind on a still swollen ankle and crutches. 

There were whispers surrounding Daniel as he moved, talk of whether or not they were going to have another fight in the hallway, whether or not Adrienne was going to get fired, whether or not they were sleeping together and this was a lover’s spat, fueling Daniel’s rage and confusion. He chased after Adrienne toward the elevators that would take them up a floor to where the infirmary and gym were housed. The cajun stepped inside, her hand still firmly pressed to her lips, seeing him coming, and reaching quickly to hit the close door button, but Daniel jammed a crutch in between the doors just in time and jumped in, falling onto Adrienne and knocking them both to the floor of the elevator.  

“Why da fuck wonnna ya leave me alone!?!” she screamed, taking her hands from her mouth and shoving him back against the elevator and off of her, causing him to slam his head into the side of the wall.  Crawling onto her knees and trying to hold her dripping mouth, Adrienne reached up and pressed the button to take her to the infirmary’s level and watched the doors close, grabbing the hand rails with her free arm on the elevator and hoisting herself to a standing position.  Seeing her stand, Daniel struggled to get up himself, his ankle throbbing and refusing to support his weight, and looking to her for assistance, but she refused to help him, instead spat in his direction releasing a stream of unintelligible Cajun swear words down upon him, garnering an equally as vicious response from him. There was a jolt and motion and the elevator moved upward, Daniel and Adrienne still swearing and screaming at one another.  

When the doors opened, there was Cameron, in running clothes and sweaty, towel wrapped around his neck.  Jogging up behind him was Dr. Carson Beckett, who had apparently joined him in a run since Adrienne was out of commission for three days.  The two men stood in awe, taking in the sight in front of them, Adrienne was leaning into the corner of elevator, hand to her mouth, blood oozing out of her fingers, as she glared downward, swearing profusely at Daniel, who was sprawled out onto the floor, one hand holding onto the railing of the elevator and the other hanging onto his ankle cursing right back.  

“What in the world!?!” Cameron exclaimed.  Of all of the insane fights he had seen Daniel and Adrienne have, Daniel and anybody have, this was the most ridiculous by far.  What in the hell was wrong with them? Separate, they were two of the most intelligent rational people he had ever met, but together, it was as if they had been made to be at one another’s throat. Adrienne stopped shouting, realizing the door was open for her escape, and kicked Daniel, giving him the finger and starting to leave the elevator, but Cam jumped in front of her, holding his hands out.  Adrienne stopped, her eyes afire, preparing to swear at him as well as Cameron looked over his shoulder.  

“Carson?” he asked, “Will Addy bleed to death?” 

Grimacing, the doctor stepped forward and carefully peeled Adrienne’s hand from her mouth, leaning forward and peering at her lip.  He cocked his head and pulled her chin down, turning her left and then right, finally looking back over at Cam.   

“No, she popped a stitch, but it’s started to clot already,” Carson replied, letting go of her face and stepping back, Cam smiling at his answer.    

“Good,” he replied and tossed Adrienne his towel, clasping her shoulder firmly as he shoved the confused woman back into the elevator. He stepped back and moved to the emergency key box over the elevator button, waving his ID card, lifting the plastic lid and removing the firefighter's key, looking back at his friends once more.  

“I’ve had it with you two.  Everyone has had it with you two! All you do is fight and compete and fight and compete.  For no good reason! Adrienne has never done anything to you and christ Addy, he admitted he was wrong in the beginning.  But for some reason you two just go on and on and on.  You want to hate each other, fine, but the rest of us are sick of hearing it!!  So, here’s what I’m gonna do.  I’m gonna lock you two educated idiots in this elevator and no one’s coming out until I feel that you’ve come to some sort of an agreement as to how you are going to tolerate one another.  Because newsflash Jackson, she ain’t going away, and Addy, he’s not going anywhere either. You both need to figure out how to deal with that!!” 

There was nothing else that needed to be said, Cameron just stepped away from the elevator doors and moved toward the key slot, inserting the key and turning.  Reality setting in as the two archaeologists figured out what was about to happen, both Adrienne and Daniel began shouting at him, Adrienne even trying to make a mad dash through the door, but Cameron just ignored them as the doors locked, Adrienne drawing back her hand just in time. 

Smiling, Cam walked over to the red emergency phone, drawing the receiver from its cradle. 

“Hey Walter, can you tell Sam that the elevators are tied up for a bit. No, no emergency, but tell her she’ll thank me later,” Cam hung up the phone and turned to leave, Carson staring at him, mouth open.  

“Aren’t you going to wait around?” he asked as Cam walked toward the stairs.  

“Nope, I’ll have Walter check the cameras in about an hour. I’m gonna shower. Trust me, it’s going to take at least an hour for one of them to actually speak to the other one,” Cam opened the door to the stairwell. 

Carson just shook his head and followed.  

It took 45 minutes. 

“Can you help me straighten my leg, it fell asleep,” Daniel spoke first, Adrienne silently pleased to have won this battle, but she didn’t respond, just reached over, fixing his leg, not dignifying his request with a verbal response, infuriating Daniel. 

“Are you kidding me?” Daniel shouted, “You see, this is why you infuriate me so badly! Why I kicked you out of that church on the last mission, why I have nothing to do with you!” She glared over at him sharply.

“And this is why I can’t stand you! You think you know everything about everything and once you’ve made up your mind, that’s it.  You only acknowledge my existence when you want something!” she spat in return, looking forward again.  She was his assistant and she was there to, well, assist him, but a “How are you doing today?” would be nice once in a while.

She was a person, she had feelings, even if he didn’t have any. 

“That’s not true!” he roared, angered at what she was inferring.  She was his assistant; she’s supposed to do things when he wanted them but she was making it sound like she was slave labor. Her eyes were on his once more. 

“Yes it is!!! You sat there trying your best not to talk to me until YOU needed something!”  she retorted, her voice raising again, her heart pounding in anger. 

“Ow!” Daniel mumbled, as he started to sit up, reaching to rub the sore limb while Adrienne sat back in her corner, keeping silent.  He was grunting beside her, trying to get himself into a more comfortable position, but she started rolling her eyes, continuing her stare forward, running the Greek alphabet through her mind, trying to ignore him, but she just couldn't. Sighing, Adrienne came to her knees, crawling over to him and reaching over to take his ankle in her hands, unwrapping it gently. 

Daniel was puzzled, why was she doing this, he thought she hated him, but she didn't speak, just removed the bandage, checking his ankle as she had last night, her fingers lightly tickling his skin. 

Getting as comfortable as he could on the floor of an elevator with a busted ankle, Daniel gazed down at the mad young woman kneeling in front of  him on the elevator floor, very visibly angry but checking his injury over nonetheless. He was still pissed but he didn’t want to spend the rest of his day sitting in a suspended box either, so he decided to say something, try to figure out a way out of this.   

“Have you considered for a moment that you never take the time to talk to me either!?!” Daniel questioned, trying to remain as calm as possible, his eyebrows raising in curiosity. This was a two way street, maybe if she tried to be friendly with him instead of act like he had something wrong with him he would be a little nicer to her in return.  

“Now that’s not true!” she shouted back, turning her gaze to meet his once more.  

“It isn’t? So, yesterday, when I challenged you to run, you didn’t see me smiling, laughing? I was kidding Adrienne, I was trying to be friendly, but you had to take it too seriously, as if I planned the entire damn thing out, like I wanted to bust you open? Then, to top it off, you just jaunt off world, happily in my place, like an arrogant bitch,”  Daniel continued, wanting to slap his own idiotic self in the face for calling her a bitch. Now, if she hadn’t already, she was going to explode.   

“An arrogant bitch!?!’ now Adrienne was angry, not just merely annoyed.  It’s one thing to treat her poorly, it was another to do so and then proceed to call her a name in the process. 

“Yes, an arrogant bitch.  You might not be parading around here like you can sleep with anyone you want, but you certainly act like you are superior to them all.  No wonder the women hate you,” Daniel hissed, being too late to take it back now, he just let it all pour out, everything that had been going through his head since his conversation with Vala. 

"Fuck you!! You don't even know me!! You don't even take five fuckin minutes to ask me anything about anything other than did I fuckin' finish what you've ordered me to do!!" she screamed, dropping his leg painfully onto the floor of the elevator. 

"You're my ASSISTANT, you're supposed to do what I tell you to do!!!" he raged back, "why in the hell are you so indignant!?! What did you expect to march in here like the queen of fuckin' Sheba!?!" 

"Nah, I expected ta come en 'ere ahn work wit a renowned professional en da field not a stuck up tchew who dinks he is bedda dan everyone ahn wants everyone ta bow aht his feet!! I'm nah 'ere ta get ya coffee ahn blow ya!!!" she added, her face red, her accent fierce. 

"Why do you keep saying that!?!?" he demanded, confused as to why she had pinned him some on base stud. 

"Putain, really? Ya eedah an eedeeit ah asshole den," she replied, moving away from his foot and sitting back where she was before. 

"Yes really? You're the one thinking like Vala here! Who rubbed who's leg when??" he raged back, trying to standing and falling back onto his butt.  

"What in the hell are you talking about?!?! You are the LAST thing on my mind!!" she countered, slightly pleased to see him in pain. 

"Back on Grayson's planet, you don't remember?? he asked, now feeling stupid for even bringing it up.  

"Dear God you coo yon, I'm Southern, we touch everybody. Don't worry, I'm not going the bang Daniel fan club," she retorted, staring back at the wall. 

"Look, I have no idea where in the world you are getting these crazy ideas or why you insist on waltzing around here like you can do no wrong, but I didn’t mean to bust your lip or make you look stupid. No one is out to get you, I’m not out to get you and the sooner you realize that the better you’ll be, the better we’ll all be. What are you trying to prove? You’ve got the job?" he hissed, glaring at her, challenging her stare as she fumed, her eyes widening her lips trembling. 

"I can't fuckin' fail ya ignorant asshole!! I canna fail, don't ya get it!?! Did ya READ my folder!?! Did ya READ anyding!?! Do ya know wha ‘tis ta grow up in fuckin' Louisiana?! It’s edda perfect ah nuthin’ ya idiot!!" she howled back, confusing him further. What was she talking about now? 

“Fuck you Daniel," she continued before he could ask, calming her accent so he would understand, "fuck you for being an inconsiderate tchew, fuck you for being a man. Things aren't as easy for a woman in the South, ok, and apparently they aren't gonna be that easy here. I have done everything thing that you have asked, I have tried to be professional, I have tried everything I could to please you,” she screamed, her voice cracking at the end. Was she crying? Was Adrienne trying not to cry? 

“Fine, you win, I quit,” she addedt, looking back up at the camera in the corner, “You hear me Cameron, let us out.  I quit. Daniel got his wish,”  Adrienne started to stand, walking over to the camera.  

“So that’s it, you just quit.  We have a problem that we need to work through and since there is no easy solution, you just quit. I guess I was right about you after all,” Daniel leaned his head back against the wall, his stomach doing cartwheels for a reason he could not explain, maybe from fear as Adrienne livid, her blood boiling, her eyes like knives, whipped around to face him, looking like she was going to scream again.

Sam looked at the monitor and back at Cameron, shaking her head as she did. 

“Are you sure this was a good idea? She just quit,” Sam said, a look of worry in her face. Adrienne had been a good addition to the SGC, and granted she might not be best placed with Daniel, but she was good at her job and Sam intended to keep her one way or the other, but Cam shook his head, his arms crossed as he stared at the screen.  

“She’s bluffing,” he answered. He had been laughing at the two of them in pain and refusing to talk to one another and now was getting a kick at the two of them having to really deal with one another and face their issues. It was all so stupid, everyone could see; Daniel was just pissed to have to finally deal with someone as neurotic as he was.  Sam, however, was shaking her head in disagreement.    

“I’m not sure. Maybe this was a bad idea.  She’s too much like him,” she continued, watching the two archaeologists scream at one another. 

“Which is why he hates her, or at least acts like he hates her.  Give them a bit longer.  My grandma did this to me and my cousin when we were ten and everything worked alright then,” Cam assured her.  

“Your grandmother locked you in an elevator?” Sam questioned, knowing there had to be more to the story as Cam was smiling. 

“Well, it was a basement and after we gave each other black eyes we vowed to never have a fist fight again.  And we didn’t,” Cameron looked back at the monitor a huge grin still on his face, Sam beginning to consider calling a med team to be on standby.  

“CAM!!!” Adrienne was shouting at the camera, “Let me out!!! I’m hungry!! I quit!! I never want to see this stupid asshole ever again!!!” She kept repeating variations of that statement over and over, whilst Daniel remained on the floor, watching her make a complete fool out of herself.

“He’s not going to let us out until we come to some agreement, you heard him,” Daniel finally said quietly from the other side of the elevator.  Adrienne looked over at him, scowling. 

“We did come to an agreement.  I quit and you get to go back to being the mysterious hermit that never leaves his cave,” she answered. He should have been insulted but Daniel just laughed, Adrienne looking at him like she was insane.  

“What?” she asked, fighting the urge to smack him across the face, after all of this insanity, not wanting him to be laughing at her. She just wanted out, out of this elevator, out of this building and out of his life.  

“That’s Bruce Wayne,” he said.  He couldn’t resist, Adrienne always had a million and one references to pop culture in every argument she ever had, he just couldn’t help himself, thinking the joke might break the tension but Adrienne just maintained her glare.  He’d also taken a moment to consider her words. He REALLY should have read that file, he’d never really thought about the fact that she was from the South, a female archaeologist and classics professor from the South. It had been hard enough for Sarah, the lone woman in the program, and they were in California, but he couldn’t imagine what Adrienne must have gone through to be taken seriously, in fact, that actually started to explain so much...

“No, he leaves his cave to fight crime.  You fall asleep on keyboards,” she corrected, although slightly impressed at his reference, her expression softening slightly.  Daniel however, slumped his shoulders, offended that was all she thought he did. 

“I leave my cave, a lot.  I’ve done a lot of cool things that I’m pretty proud of.  You don’t know the half of what I’ve done,” Daniel answered her, not angry, but sounding a bit hurt.  She looked over at him, feeling bad, remembering things she had read in files, things she discovered that he had done, sighing out deeply.  

“Ok Batman, my point is, you get to go back to working alone.  Like you wanted in the first place. Now, can you convince Cameron to let us out of here? I don’t like tight spaces,” she requested honestly, feeling chills down her spine as she admitted to herself how tight a place this was and that they had been trapped here for almost an hour now, but Daniel was silent. Swallowing, she decided to change her tactic.   

“Come on Daniel, he’ll listen to you,” Adrienne pleaded. Surprised, Daniel looked over at her, noticing that she was visibly upset, vsibly upset, so Daniel sat forward and leaned the best he could, trying to put his face in the aim of the camera.    

“Cam, we’re good,” Daniel said into the camera and gave it a thumbs up, smiling slightly and looking over at Adrienne.  

“There, done. He should be reactivating everything shortly.  Just look happy,” Daniel ordered. Appreciating the effort, Adrienne sat back against the elevator wall and tried to smile.  The elevator jerked and started to move and Daniel watched Adrienne as she seemed to be willing herself to relax and calm down.  He didn’t want her to leave, she was good at what she did, and maybe if he just took the time to know get to know her better, they could work through this. 

“For your information,” Daniel spoke, changing his tone trying to be a jovial as possible, “Batman DIDN’T work alone. You should know that.”  

“Whatever,” Adrienne answered.  Not the response he was looking for...

“Just pointing that out, that’s all,” Daniel remained silent after that. It was entirely possible that Adrienne hated him and wasn’t too thrilled about the job. Maybe she wanted to quit, but just as he was running that idea through his head, Adrienne breathed out.  

“I don’t want to quit,” she said keeping her gaze ahead. 

“I figured,” Daniel responded, something inside of him happy to hear that. He looked over at her, searching her face for expression and found it, that same quietness from her interview, eyes focused back on her lap, picking her fingernails.  

“But this isn’t going to work,” she added, “every time we come to an understanding we just blow up at each other again.” 

“Not like this it isn’t,” he concurred, “I think maybe we need to stop and think first before we speak. We are two rational, reasonable people.  We can rationally, reasonably come to a solution to an argument.”  Adrienne glanced over at him, leaving her near bleeding fingers alone, thankfully.  

“I’m sorry I yelled at you and acted like a bitch,” she apologized, forcing a smile, “I kinda thought you might be messing with me, I just got pissed that I fell and busted my lip open.”    

“I’m sorry I called you that. You aren’t, really.  I didn’t mean that,” he replied, “and the next time I decide to mess with you I’ll make sure it doesn’t involve slamming your face into the floor.” 

They were both silent again, neither of them having much else to say. The elevator gave a bigger jerk and began to move, stopping and dinging at the level for the infirmary.  Before the doors could open, Adrienne rushed over and hit the door lock button, looking back at Daniel as he was still sitting on the floor.  

“If you have a problem with me or something I’m doing, can we discuss it in private?” she requested quickly, still embarrassed about the scene in the hallway.

“I think that’s fair,” he replied, glancing up at her sincerely, “and I promise to stay out of your insanity with your little boys club.”   

“No more calling me out in front of everyone and vice versa?” she clarified.  

“Deal,” he answered and paused, wanting to say something else, but deciding against it,  reaching up the railings in a sad attempt to heave himself to his feet, stumbling and cascading back down to the floor.  

Adrienne smiled and walked over to him, pulling him up onto her shoulder, Daniel catching a glimmer of her dark cajun eyes, not intimidating at all, but, well, beautiful.

“Seriously, there are some things you can ask me to help with, just balance that with a good morning once in a while,” she added, adjusting him against her, reaching for his crutches. Satisfied that he was upright and taken care of, leaning carefully against her, she tapped the button to release the lock and when the door opened there stood Sam and Cameron, the latter looking pleased.   

“See,” Cameron looked over at Sam, “no blood.” 

Sam didn’t respond, making a face at him and walking over and grabbing Daniel’s crutches, helping him onto them, freeing Adrienne and glaring over at the young historian. 

“Dr. Rowan, I need you to report to the infirmary to have that lip looked at, now,” Sam ordered, still infuriated at the both of them, her military training tempering her voice.  

“Yes ma’am,” Adrienne glanced down, avoiding eye contact with the general, continuing on her way to her original destination from over an hour ago.  With her safely out of sight, Sam looked back at Daniel concern on her face, but Daniel was shaking his head before his friend could speak. 

“We’re good, I promise. No more swearing matches in the hallway. You have my word,” Daniel assured her.  

“Daniel, if this isn’t working out tell me. I can keep looking for another alternative...” Sam offered, trying to weigh his reaction before saying anything further. 

“No, no, she’ll be fine, we’ll be fine. We just need to get used to each other that’s all,” he said, hoping Sam would believe him. 

“Alright, but let me know if you think that, well, that it won’t work out,” Sam continued searching his face for something he night not be tell her, but could find nothing.    

“We’ll be ok,” Daniel said quickly and turned his crutches to head for the infirmary.  Confused, Sam tried to scan him to see what could have happened to him in the elevator that required medical attention.   

“Where are you going?” Sam finally asked, determining there was nothing wrong with him, other than the ankle, and hoping he was going to keep his word and not go down there to yell at her. He stopped and looked over his shoulder, smiling.  

“I’m gonna go mess with her.  Dr. Lam said if she had to replace any stitches she wasn’t going to numb her,” Daniel lifted his eyebrows and crutched away, hoping he hadn’t missed anything that he could harass her about later.